Saturday, July 28, 2012

Consumerism, Materialism and Loneliness

The present day obsession with brands have left today's "aspiration class" riding the materialistic wave. The aspiration of climbing up the social ladder is fulfilled by brands. The growing number of malls and billboards in our cities spoiling the natural surroundings is a direct outcome of this demand. What we don't realize is that even if temporarily these brands help us increase our social standing (fueled by money), they at the same time make us more lonely. Marketers project brands as a way to fulfill dreams, as a way to be happier. While this gives us the temporary pleasures of a worldly life, it takes us away from close relations. We devote more of our time to earn more, which fulfills our materialistic desires. The outcome is that this pursuit distances ourselves from relationships and makes us lonelier.

Ironically, this loneliness is overcome by again indulging with brands.

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The Economy of Social features in India’s top and most widely read blogs. You can find latest updates on social media marketing, analysis, and tips on marketing in the space of social media including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest etc. It also has updates on mobile marketing, e-commerce and more.The proliferation of social networks and their increasing importance in daily lives of people have made it an important element of the marketing mix. People now spend a large amount of their time creating and consuming content on social networks while interacting with their peers and building an identity. Smartphone usage has further propelled the diffusion of social networks and applications such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Line, We-Chat, Viber, Hike, Wooplr etc. making it increasingly important to connect with users on mobile. This means a departure from a Facebook and Google oriented online marketing strategy to a 360 degree social media marketing strategy, which also incorporates mobile. Having an effective social media strategy is important for an successful marketing plan. Economy of Social discusses these topics.